Over the threshold: Newlyweds carried across floods in digger

These newlyweds had a white water wedding - they had be carried across a raging river in an excavator.

Groom Marjun Bellesta, 27, and bride Remelyn, 25, had the ceremony in a church in mountains near their village in Negros Oriental, Philippines.

But after the vows the heavens opened and they were unable to cross a flooded river to get home for the reception after the downpour caused the stream to swell.

Luckily one of the guests could operate a backhoe digger and the groom asked to borrow it from a nearby site where it had been clearing landslides.

Heartwarming footage and wedding pictures show the couple being carefully carried across the fast-flowing river - with the seven-months pregnant bride taking care to keep her white dress dry.

The digger then spun back round to carry the bridesmaids in pink dresses and other guests from one river bank to the other.

The unique wedding shots were a hit in the Philippines with the bride saying it was ''the best day ever'' after the do in the remote Abis district on September 23.

Loved-up Remelyn said: ''This was like the beginning of married life. There are many challenges to deal with but they can be met. Even the river wasn't going to disrupt our wedding arrangements and stop the first dance.

''Normally it's easy to walk across the river because it is low and there are stones to stand on.

''But I am pregnant and the heavy rain made it dangerous.

''One of the guests knew a resident who was using a backhoe so we borrowed that to get back across the water to the reception.''